The swine industry makes use of feeding systems to improve the performance achieved by the pork producers. Automated and computerized feeding systems are known to provide an adequate nutrition for farrowing and lactating sows.
Genetic capacity for high piglet survival and growth rate combined to the selection for larger litters increases the demands on sows during lactation. Therefore, they lose more weight during lactation.
Studies have shown that the body reserve of the lactating sow must be controlled to improve their health. Controlling the body reserve of the lactating sow can be achieved by maximizing the sow feed intake during lactation. Improving the body condition of the sow and its milking capacity is achieved by offering multiple meals during the day in order to increase the sow's daily feed intake. It has been shown that an increase in average feed intake of 1 kg/day by the sow can improve piglet wean weight by 0.25 kg and the next litter size by at least 0.5 piglet.
Meeting the feed needs of the lactating sow can maximize the sow milk production, produce heavier litters, keep the sow in good body condition, reduce the gestation feed costs, reduce the weaning-to-oestrus interval, produce heavier piglets at weaning, ensure a high fertility rate and a high number of piglets per litter and can allow a high number of production cycles. Automated feeding systems are typically adapted to monitor and analyze the sow's feed consumption and may therefore readjust a sow's feeding schedule.
Pork producers may control the sow's feeding schedule and access to feed through automated feeding systems. In prior art systems, the farmer may manually modify a sow's feeding schedule when he realizes the sow has reached the lactation stage. However, many hours may have passed since the birth of the first piglet of the litter. The benefits of providing the sow with a lactation diet, different from the gestation diet, cannot be achieved until this detection of the birth of the piglet is made. If the diet modification is made too early, before lactation has begun, the sow may overeat and be in poor overall condition for birthing.
Additionally, the environmental conditions required by the gestating sow are different from that of the lactating sow and from that of the newly born piglets. Temperature control is crucial. Piglets typically have a reserved stall area which can be heated to temperatures much higher than that preferred by the gestating or lactating sow. The sow typically enjoys a surrounding temperature of about 18° C. Piglets need a much higher temperature of between about 24′C. and 38° C.
The reserved area is usually heated by a lamp or a heated mat which can be turned on in advance of the birth of the piglets by the farmer to warm up the reserved area. Unfortunately, the lamp may radiate some heat in the direction of the gestating sow and may cause discomfort of the sow. Furthermore, the lamp or mat, when not calibrated properly, may actually cause the reserved area to be too warm for the piglets. The piglets will then move away from the center of heat to find a spot with an appropriate temperature. If the lamp or mat produces insufficient heat, the piglets may suffer from hypothermia which can lead to serious health issues, including death of the piglets.
There is an inherent energy waste caused by the turning on of the lamp or flooring prior to an adequate moment and by the lamp causing excessing heat in the reserved area.
There is therefore a need for an apparatus, system and/or method which would overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.